IT is a symbol of the importance of every one of the 8,500 miles Steve Fear has walked in his personal crusade to conquer meningitis.

The photograph of his niece Sophie Deacon, who died of the disease in 1994, aged just 16, has accompanied Steve on the hundreds of fundraising walks he has taken on to raise money for Meningitis UK since she passed away.

Steve, 57, of Dutch Road, Mark, said this week: “I always put Sophie's photo in the windscreen of the van which accompanies us to remind me why I keep walking - to help find a vaccine to beat this terrible disease.”

The poignant reminder will be with Steve when he sets out on his latest trekking challenge on Saturday - a 201-mile walk around Northern Ireland's coast over nine days.

Steve, along with pal Steve Dayman, chief executive of Meningitis UK, and more than 100 others, hopes to raise £50,000.

He added: “Every walk is a challenge. The walk I did last autumn was 16 days so this one should be more manageable.

“We've got another 16-day walk in October and that will be our last but we've made great progress in terms of vaccine research in the 18 years since Sophie died.”

To help Steve, call Emily Mitchard on 0117-3737373 or visit www.meningitisuk.org